CHENEY, Wash. (AP) - Ryan Hastie’s 1-yard touchdown plunge with 1:46 left lifted Sacramento State to a 21-20 Big Sky Conference victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday.

The victory snapped the Hornets out of a 19-game losing skid on the road that spanned nearly four years.

Trailing 20-7 with less than 12 minutes left in the game, the Hornets (1-1 Big Sky, 1-3 overall) managed back-to-back TD drives to rally past the Eagles (1-1, 1-4). Sacramento State’s last road victory also came against Eastern, a 48-41 win on Oct. 26, 2002.

Sacramento State’s game-winning drive started at its own 19 with 2:42 left. Marcel Marquez hit Phillip Perry on a 48-yard strike to take it to the EWU 33. Faced with fourth-and-10, Marquez hit Jason Barnes for 18 yards, then followed with a 14-yard pass to Barnes that pushed the ball to the Eagle 1, setting up Hastie’s run.

After a slow start, Marquez finished 17 of 29 for 209 yards and added 38 yards rushing as the Hornets also snapped a streak of 12 straight Big Sky losses on the road, a conference record.

EWU had a chance late, driving to its own 36 with 1:10 left. But quarterback Matt Nichols was intercepted by Craig King to seal the Hornet win. It was one of three interceptions for Nichols, who hit 21 of 42 passes for 329 yards and a touchdown.

Brynsen Brown caught five passes for 104 yards and Aaron Boyce had seven catches for 96 yards for the Eagles. Toke Kefu, who scored on a five-yard run to give EWU a 20-7 edge early in the fourth, added 98 yards rushing on 28 carries.

Rainbow Mauga scored twice for Sacramento State, including a 4-yard catch with 3:36 left to cap a 17-play, 95-yard drive that pulled the Hornets to within 20-14.

Headline: Sacramento St 21, E Washington 20
Category: S

Creation Date: 9/30/2006 18:34:25 Submit Date: 9/30/2006 18:35:32
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Object Name: FBC SACRAMENTO ST E WASHINGTON
ID: K2031
Source: The Associated Press Credit: (AP)
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